Aga anyone?

I am with BeeKeeper, I live in a semi detached, 1930's house on the outskirts of Bristol, I have had a 3 oven , gas Aga for 8 years now, we all love the" hot" as my small granddaughter calls it. Really useful for drying the washing as well. :-)

Hi JessM

Sorry, what I meant was that in the wilds of Yorkshire, there are few hot days that warrant turning the Aga off completely!

We keep our rayburn on, just (i.e. not even at the lowest actual setting ’low', but just not quite off). This way, it takes the chill/damp off the kitchen. There might be a few weeks in summer (not always) when I actually switch it right off, but we have cool weather for the most part.

Anyway, I reckon this is much more efficient than heating it up from cold when you want to cook.

I have an oil fired Rayburn (about 10 years old), it has a timer so I can set it to switch on while I am out and a lovely casserole will be ready for me when I get home. It also runs the heating which again is set to switch on and off at certain times. It is true it takes about 30 minutes to heat up before I can start using the oven, but it does hold the heat so I can switch it off earlier and it will still keep cooking, the hob heats up quite quickly.

The main draw backs are it has fiddly little nooks which are difficult to clean (the hinges on the lids are a particular bugbear). Although I can use the main oven to "grill" it isn't the same as a proper grill you get with a normal cooker

DH was in the energy efficiency industry. If anyone mentions Agas he swears (which he does not do often)
I think the reason is that:
They are not an energy efficient method of cooking - heating up a massive big lump of metal before you can even begin to think about heating up any food.
As a heating method they stink - they are expensive to run and not easily adjustable. Take a lot of energy to heat them up and then you can't turn them down easily. They are designed to stay warm night and day, summer and winter.
As beekeeper implies you are keeping this big lump of metal hot all the year whether your house needs heating or not.
But I am not sure about the relative benefits between gas and other kinds.
If you are not cosy, think about whether your room could be made more energy efficient.
Depends what your views are on having a big oven on all the time, huge fuel bills and high CO2 output.

I have discovered why I do not like Agas, we do not have any pets, no dogs, cat. guinea pigs or hamsters.

Getting an Aga clearly means having to buy animals and as we are away from home a lot and DD has a fur and feather allergy, plus the fact that I really do not want all the hassle that goes with animals around the house.

With no animals I am obviously going to opt for a nice easy clean all-gas range. Even though they, individually, do not last as along as an Aga,I can buy about 5 gas range cookers and still have change from the cost of an Aga.

Absolutely no contest - Agas cook everything beautifully & the oven space is huge. Yes, expensive to buy, but they last for decades & are more than just a cooker. I no longer own a microwave, tumble drier, electric toaster or kettle. The only thing my iron gets to see is shirts - careful folding & an hr or so on the Aga does the rest!
For the few days of the year when it's really too hot, the Aga can be turned onto low to just tick over - or, if that's still too hot, it's turned off & I'm in the garden with the barbecue & a cold drink....But, the Aga should be sufficiently insulated so that it doesn't throw out lots of heat - some of the older ones seem to leak more heat than others
The biggest problem is getting to the ovens, past the assorted dogs & cats on the floor, and adults leaning on the front rail - my son even used to sit on it!
Go for it MrsJamJam!

We live in a very old listed house, classic Aga territory, most of the neighbours have them.

I chose quite consciously not to have one. I bought a nice all-gas range cooker with controls that mean I can put the turkey in the oven on Christmas Eve with the timer set to automatically turn the oven on on Christmas morning so that I can have a long sleep and leisurely get up on Christmas day.

My gas cooker was a fraction of the price of an Aga and, although now, after nearly 20 years, it will soon need replacing, even the cost of two gas range cookers is less than the cost of an Aga.

My mother had a springer spaniel, a Labrador and a cat. We all became very good at cooking in a sort of "leaning forward" way, as there were usually 3 furry bodies between you and the stove!

merlot I've never met anyone who (if they had had one before) wouldn't go back to one like a shot!

We had one in the farmhouse that went with DH's job. Oh how I miss it. Where do you put a dog basket in a kitchen without an AGA and how do you warm your bottom up on a cold day without a rail to lean against??

I've only got room for the smaller one unless I completely remodel the kitchen, not a sensible option. I see that you can get a three oven electric one and as we have no mains gas here that seems quite a good option. The newer electric ones seem to be a bit more controllable so that you can reduce the heat easily.

Looking at prices, I am currently in the realms of fantasising until I have done some serious saving up. Right now, darling dog needs an expensive op which will take us well over the annual amount insurance will cover and of course he takes priority.

www.twyford-cookers.com/aga-cookers-c133/renovated-aga-cookers-c140/aga-twyford-renovated-4-oven-traditional-aga-cooker-p1306?gclid=CO6fvpOcprwCFUj4wgod0U8AjA%3Fgclid%3DCO6fvpOcprwCFUj4wgod0U8AjA#2829

Ooooh I do so want one!

Yes, they are expensive! The chap who used to service mothers always reckoned that the modern ones weren't a patch on the older ones.

A friend bought a second hand reconditioned one.

How would it be run, oil, LPG, gas, electric etc?

They are very expensive JamJam and take some getting used to. Not for all year round use either - you need another oven for summer cooking as they do get very warm and take a while to cool down/heat up. Do your research before taking the plunge I would say!

PS The coolest oven was also very useful for reviving hypothermic lambs.

My parents had a 4 oven oil fired Aga, and loved it! I must admit I did too. However it did mean that the kitchen was too warm in summer, so my mother had an electric cooker in the utility room so that she could turn the Aga off.

We would then actually look forward to the Autumn when it was turned on again, because it was so lovely to cook on.

If I was having one I would definitely go for the 4 oven version rather than the 2 .